Arthur Brooks | Why Giving Matters | February 24, 2009 | BYU Broadcasting

Arthur Brooks | Why Giving Matters | February 24, 2009 | BYU Broadcasting

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I read this awesome speech and wanted to post the actual written speech but alas I only found this. This guy is a professor at Syracuse and did research on why giving: time, money, etc is important. This is a must watch!!!! Please do it! Thanks Lance for passing this on!

What does the government do well?

I was posing this question to my husband...let's see...they lose my mail or take forever to deliver it (I know of a package that sat in another post office 45 minutes away for a week before it got to our mailbox), they have a ton of paperwork for me to do to get my money back--if I get any back (thank heaven's for tax software), the money I put into Social Security won't be there when I am old because they have stolen from it, my toilet clogs almost daily because it's suppose to be more 'green' therefore to code--sorry if you have to flush 5 times to get all the contents down I'm not saving any water!

So I pose this question because I hear people want them to take over the health care system we have. The government can not effectively run most of the agencies it has how in the !@#$ is it going to run health care? I have lived outside the US in a country that had socialized medicine. 3 weeks to see a doctor about a sinus infection, what? I get crabby if I have to wait until the afternoon! My husband lived in Finland, 3 months to see a doctor for a BLEEDING ulcer (not him a friend). Is this what we want? No thanks! I know the system needs REFORM, but it must come from OUR choices in health care.

So if you can shed some light on what the government does well and I don't mean screw up stuff--I know that. It screws stuff up because it is too big and too meddling it needs to step back and let us make our choices and let the pieces fall as they may. Unfortunately people want security over liberty and that security will end up taking away their liberty in the end and with it their security.

Another movie & book review...

So I've let everything go...it's not my fault, really! My in-laws gave me a new book for my birthday: The Actor and the Housewife by Shannon Hale (she did the Goosegirl/Bayern Series and the Princess Academy)who happens to be one of my favorite authors. This book is an adult novel, it was AWESOME it was very surprising so I couldn't put it down! I won't divulge too much because I was very surprised by the whole thing. Just borrow it from me or the library! Thanks Mom and Dad Pew!

I went to see Harry Potter 6 HP and the Half-Blood Prince with Tim and the kids minus Taran who was hiking King's Peak (the highest Peak in Utah) and Gwen who was at my sister-in-law's Amy--thanks Amy! I enjoyed the movie, I've resigned myself to the fact that these movies will never be as good as JK Rowling's writing, how could they? But they are entertaining and well done, overall. It will be interesting to see how they tie up lose ends since they didn't include some things I consider important to the story but I am not the screenwriter am I? I am sure it is a huge challenge to produce a movie from books that have such a huge following. People are never going to be satisfied because the books just are amazing. So if you haven't seen it yet and plan to, just go and enjoy the movie. I found it refreshingly funny which was a nice surprise.

My sister, Teresa, who is a 5th grade teacher gave me a book to read called Chains by Laurie Halse Andersen. I loved her book Fever 1793 so I was excited to read another book by her. I haven't finished it yet but so far she's got me sucked in--who'd a thought historical fiction could be so fun! or should I say riveting. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy history but some people write it so boring unlike Laurie!

So if you happen by, give me a break. I have barely kept the kids fed and clean this week!:)

Movie & Book Reviews...

So I actually have read some books here and there. I read The Star Garden which is the last of the These is My Words trilogy--a historical fiction of a pioneer woman in Arizona. It's a bit violent for me but it was still interesting to read over all. I still think These is My Words is the best in the series, I LOVED it. I bought a bunch of books for the kids this summer and couldn't resisted getting me one! I love fantasy/fairytale so this book The Princess of the Midnight Ball caught my eye. It's a rewrite of the 12 dancing princesses. I loved it. It's a quick read and is a delight. Emily read it first and she loved it and begged me to read it too.

We've been watching musicals, my mom had a ton and I borrowed them since I was thinking Emily might enjoy them and I thought my older boys hadn't seen them. Boy was I wrong, Taran and Timo saw them in choir and general music. And they hated them. Owell. So far Fiddler on the Roof is Emily's favorite. I had not seen most of these in awhile or ever. I think the Sound of Music is my favorite, then Fiddler on the Roof the rest are really strange but I do like some of the songs from them! We have seen: South Pacific, Brigadoon, My Fair Lady and we are in the middle of Hello Dolly! We saw Annie Get Your Gun last Saturday put on by the local theater here. The actors were talented but I didn't LOVE the story but it was better than some of these others! Maybe I'll make my list of my top musicals someday. Let me know your favorites and we'll watch them.

We saw Up for my birthday, that was good. Then for our anniversary we saw the new Star Trek movie. Tim loved it, I enjoyed it. It was entertaining and I think they did a good job at picking the actors. Taran went and saw it with some friends and enjoyed it and he isn't a trekkie or a big movie goer. We watched Forever Strong last night, we gave the DVD to Tim for Father's Day. So we finally got to watch it. It was really good. It is based on actual events about a teenage rugby player headed to jail for drunk driving multiple times and how he is influenced by a great coach and turns his life around. This is a great family show, a must see!!! We've rented some movies too: Inkheart, cute show a good family show, Beverly Hills Chihuahua, little kids liked it I didn't see it, Every Road Leads Home, Emily liked it A LOT, but I didn't get to see it either. We like to use Redbox since our new Walmart has one. So there you go! I look forward to seeing Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince this week! We are going Wednesday!!!

New Walmart=new cavities

Just a funny but not so funny update! Last week we all had our dental check ups. I warned the kids if they had any cavities no soda and no buying candy until the next check up in December. They have been buying soda and candy more than ever since the new Walmart opened. Although they completely deny it. So here's how it panned out: Timo 4 cavities, Izak 2 cavities, Emily and Taran 1 each! Bummer for them! We usually don't drink soda but for special occasions. But I think they were very surprised by the news! We are doing our best to stimulate the economy!

The 4th of July!

 

We had a great 4th of July. I meant to post some yesterday but got too busy. We had breakfast at my mom's with all my siblings and their families. It was yummy. We had whole wheat waffles with fresh strawberries or raspberries and whipped cream, hashbrowns, sausage, bacon, donuts, juice and chocolate milk. Then the kids and the dads got in their swim suits and they played in the pool with an inflatable canoe my dad has. It was quite fun for the kids to be pushed around in it and knocked into the water at time! Thanks Uncle Charl and Uncle Keith! They also had fun in the hot tub as well. Timo ended up taking a nap--I missed the photo opportunity. Taran hurt his big toe on Friday at a place that has a room full of trampolines, called Jump on it! He went for his friend Breton's birthday. He kept his foot up all day--notice all 2 pictures of him in the collage. We left around noon for home since Timo still needed to get somethings ready for scout camp this Monday. We went to Cabella's and Walmart and I think we got it all finally. Tim and I went to the house that Keith and his wife Amber are in the process of buying. It's only about 10 minutes away. It needs some work for sure but it has some neat things about it too. When we came home I tried to have a little nap since I knew I was going to be up late. After several interruptions I decided to make dinner. We BBQed hot dogs and hamburgers, watermelon and chips. I kept it simple in case Tim ended up doing it alone. They had ice cream after Emily and I left for the Stadium of Fire. We met at my mom's and went down to BYU for the Stadium of Fire. We met Amy, my sister-in-law and her daughter Maddie there. Janna my another niece is in the AF marching band (one of the best in the nation) and she was in the program. I got a picture of her too before we went inside. This is a huge 4th celebration that's been around over 20 years. This year they had Glen Beck mcing with Shedaisy and the Jonas Brothers as the musical entertainment. They also had several patriotic things going on in between, including the retiring of a gigantic flag used in the show over 13 yrs. The show was broadcasted to the troops around the world. It was an amazing show and the fireworks were just spectacular in the stadium and outside. My photos don't do it justice, it was my phone camera. We had a great time and we got home at 12:30 AM. The traffic is the worst part of the whole event, for sure! So many people camp out around the stadium that it is really overwhelming the sea of cars trying to leave! Tim and the boys (plus Gwen) watched National Treasure and did some of their own fireworks which they enjoyed. It was a fun holiday. I am so grateful for this country and for what it means to me and the world. We are the stnadard of freedom and liberty. Everyone looks to us for an example. We have so much and we are so blessed. I hope that we can right the course we are on now so that we may preserve the freedoms we have and preserve the future for our children so they can enjoy them too. God Bless America, my home sweet home.

18 years...already?

So 18 years ago today, Tim and I were married in the Manti, Utah Temple. We dated about a year before we got married. We had a lot of fun. Tim is very patriotic and I also consider myself patriotic too so it was fitting that we were married the day before the 4th of July. We had a wedding luncheon at BYU after the ceremony in Manti. That evening we had a reception in my parents' backyard in Orem, Utah. It was great fun seeing so much family and good friends. My paternal grandmother--Granny Louw died a month later. Tim's maternal grandfather married us in the temple. So we have many fond memories attached to that day besides it being our day. I wore my cousin Cindy's dress, I loved it when she got married. When I found that I had 2 months to get ready for our wedding I decided to go simple and borrow if she'd let me since I knew I loved it! Thanks Cindy! Tim and I had a great time smashing cake in each others face despite the outcries of some of the older generation! Our reception colors were navy and white and we used daisies, my favorite flower. I've included a few pictures here, the black and white ones where taken by our dear, late friend Ken Southam and the others are the photographer's. About a week after we got married we went to Chico for an open house at Dennis & Sherill Allen's home. Their daughter was one of my bffs growing up. It was a blast to see the Chico people! We went to Las Vegas, Magic Mountain and San Fransisco on our way to Chico and that was our honeymoon. It was very fun!!!

Tim makes marriage easy and although our life isn't perfect I am glad to share the adventure with him. He is truly my best friend! And I love him!!! Happy Anniversary BABY!